Readers may remember that back in April, counter terrorism officers arrested 12 students in the North West of England as part of Operation Pathway.  The government has now released an update about the arrests and subsequent detentions, which have caused much consternation among some British Muslims, who (in some cases justifiably) saw the arrests as another example of the increased suspicion and victimisation of Muslims in the UK.

In my last blog, I wrote about the decision to ban an al-Qaeda supporter from a London local council.  The government's Research, Information and Communications Unit (RICU) have now released a statement about this move.

This is a guest post by CSC Research Intern Thomas Bumstead

Polls like prophecies tend to be self-fulfilling. They also share a dangerous sense of certainty about the claims that they make- of all people priests and pollsters are perhaps the only ones who believe their analysis to be infallible. Unlike other mediums there is no mechanism for the sceptic to challenge the diktats which they bring forth; he or she is forced to merely regard them somewhat suspiciously and see how things turn out. This impoverishing effect upon the discussion can be seen acutely in an Observer article by Jason Burke and Ian Traynor entitled 'Fears of an Islamic revolt in Europe begin to fade' which uses as its springboard the recent Gallup Coexist Index 2009- a poll which aims to explore 'attitudes and perceptions among Muslims and the general public ... about issues of coexistence, integration, values, identity, and radicalization' (p. 10) with a special section on France, Germany and the UK.

Muslim reformers and critics of Islam around Europe are being silenced by Islamic extremists.

The new Centre for Social Cohesion report, Victims of Intimidation: Freedom of Speech within Europe's Muslim Communities warns that unless European governments take urgent action to protect these individuals and their right to freedom of speech, Islamic extremists will be empowered and the evolution of a peaceful, tolerant 'European Islam' will never take place. The report is available here.

An atheist group will soon begin using London buses to spread its message of disbelief after raising nearly £50,000 in less than a day - nearly ten times the total amount that it hoped to raise.

The British Humanist Association aims to have two buses carrying its message, 'There's probably no God', for a month and also plans to advertise in other areas. It says that its campaign is intended to counter religious messages.